After sewing a Solis for myself, Hanne also wanted one. In addition, one of my colleagues also wanted to try out the women’s pattern. But she was doubting, because she does not really have much experience with sewing yet.No problem, because as a teacher I had to go deeper into working with instructional videos, so I went to work.I made videos of cutting the pattern parts, and then step by step – starting at the bodice – a movie to put everything together. Including a skirt with pockets.

This is the version with circle skirt, with pockets. Just like the Solis for women, this pattern has a clear manual. I made size 6 years, length 7 years.With those cheerful stripes, we are ready for a day at the beach this summer, if that is allowed again … But of course it can also be worn when it is nice and warm in our own garden 🙂

I was allowed to test again at Candy Castle Patterns. Short but powerful this time!The Snickerdoodle Sweater is a sweater with raglan sleeves. You can choose different lengths: sweater or tunic. Also with the sleeves you have the choice between long and short sleeves.Optionally you can also add a kangaroo pocket. This pattern has everything to sew a simple sweater for boys or girls. A nice bonus, if you ask me!

I sewed a tunic version for the youngest, a simple version. The pattern is put together incredibly fast! Less than 45 minutes from cutting the fabric to a finished sweater! Just pay attention when sewing the side seams, because if you are not paying attention, you might sew the front and back as sleeves. But that is typical for every raglan project. I therefore marked the front piece by pinning a needle in the center front. Inside I also marked the front with an F, and the back with an B. No doubt possible! (Under the guise of ‘a donkey does not hit the same stone twice’, because sometime I did sew the side seams, and afterwards wondered how it was possible that the sweater was so narrow …)

Of course I also sewed a tunic for the oldest! Here I ‘embellished’ everything by sewing a decorative piping band in the front raglan seam. That gives the sweater that little bit extra, always nice right?

So this time I sewed the sweater length and added the pouch. However, I applied a small hack, by gathering the bands, for a more girlish look. To do so, I cut the pattern part of the pocket band on the fabric fold, so that they became twice as long. Afterwards I folded the fabric along the length, with the straight sides together, and stitched the side seams (short sides). Then I turned the band with the right side out and stitched gathering threads. After gathering, I fastened the straps to the pouch with the overlock machine. Normally you stretch that band, so that it falls nicely flat when you attach the pouch to the front. That was not possible now, because of the gathering threads. As a result, the band is not completely flat, but I think the result is still quite successful.Tips to make this better are always welcome!I am going to try to solve it with this version by stitching transparent elastic on the back of the band.In the next version I consider making the band a little thinner and gathering it with elastic, so that it stays nice and stretchable. But I don’t know if this is the best method, so if you know a better one, feel free to comment!

If you sew a lot, you also have a lot of fabric scraps … This pattern ensures that those scraps can still serve! On the photo the normal version, but you can also sew the colorblocked version, to process even smaller scraps!

A new pattern for girls from Ellie & Mac: the 70’s top. This dreamy shirt consists of a lining with a transparent layer of stretch lace or mesh over it. Both the front and the back overlay have two parts, a yoke and underneath a gathered piece. This is V-shaped at the front, straight at the rear. This gives the possibility to work with an elastic piping or decorative bands in between. The lining consists of a 1-piece front and back.For the sleeves, you can choose from short sleeves or long ones, and you can line them or not.However, I kept it simple and made the version without lined sleeves (wonderfully summery).

For Hanne I made size 5 years in width, 6 years in length.For Laure I made size 7 years in width, 8 years in length.You can see the results below.The versions with blue lining (plain-knit fabric from stoffen.net) and white stretch lace / voile are actually my test versions.The version with white lining (lycra) and dark blue mesh with flowers is the final version.

I used Dresowka fabrics for my test version. The skirt part of Cotton Jersey weighed too heavily, so I crossed the straps over the back and attached it to the back of the bodice for more carrying capacity. This way it is easier on the neck, less chance it burns and cuts because of the weight of the skirt part and this way I end up with a wearable dress. Hanne happy, because yellow is her favorite color!

And I learned that it is best to use very light jersey for the skirt part, so that it does not pull too heavily.

For my second version I started working with ZNOK fabrics, purchased at Hazeltjes fabrics.

I cheered it up a bit with a decorative band as a binding and elastic piping between the bodice and the skirt part. This is size 4 years in width, and I made the skirt part in width 5 years, length 6 years.

The crop top is assembled in about half an hour and is easy to make. Working with binding is just a trick. If you cut it yourself, it will take a little more time and I will give you a tip to be careful when ironing. If you do this thoroughly, more than half of the work has already been done! Or you choose preformed elastic biais or a decorative band like I did with my final version.

For the dress you add the skirt part instead of the waistband. It consists of three panels. One back and two fronts with which you create a wrap at the front. You can optionally also add pockets that are included in the pattern. And of course you can choose between different lengths for the skirt!

Below I just give my aff.link. If you surf to the webshop via this link, I will receive a small commission as a thank you from the designer for my time and material to test this pattern. There are no additional costs for the buyer. But I am grateful for it 😉

There are many possibilities with this pattern:– you can choose a straight hem or a scaloped hem– you can opt for an A-line (looser fit) or a skater dress (closer fitted body)– you can opt for sleeveless, short sleeve, 3/4-sleeve or long sleeve.– you can choose to cut the bodice and skirt part separately, giving you the option to color block or sew in an elastic at the waist for an even more snug fit.

I made my test version with a cotton jersey with crowns on it (purchased from stoffen.net), which had been waiting for a destination for a long time …I chose the scalloped hem, skater style with 3/4-length sleeves.

The dress is actually very quickly put together, only the scalloped hem is of course slightly more intensive than just hemming …You first stitch a scallop hem facing (with the right sides together), and then turn the scallops outwards and secure the seam by top-stitching with a decorative stitch.There’s some turning and pivoting, but all in all it was easier than I thought 🙂

For the final version, I again opted for a fabric from stoffen.net, this time a French terry with whales on it. The curved shapes of the whales seemed to me to combine perfectly with the scalloped edge, and in my head I immediately dreamed of an ideal summer dress. After all, this material screams sun, sea and beach!

To complete the summery effect, this time it became a sleeveless dress.For this version I went for an A-line dress, to guarantee optimal freedom of movement. Now we still have to wait for a holiday, so we can visit the beach. This dress will be the perfect cover-up after a swim!

Oh yes, another thing I find special about this dress is the way the neckline is finished. No hassle with a neckband, because you will just be hemming here too! At first I thought: this can never work? But it certainly does!

For the first time I tested a pattern from Candy Castle Patterns. A simple summer dress, which I enhanced by choosing special fabrics.This dress is meant for woven as well as knit fabrics, and is finished with bias at the neck and shoulder. There are also various options for finishing the hem.

For my test version, I chose a knit fabric composed of strips of stretchable voile (I have no idea what this is called … or how to describe it exactly … but the pictures make everything clear!) This was certainly one of the most nasty fabrics to process! Hundreds of pins to keep all those layers in place all the time, and consequently a lot of time was spent on sewing what is actually an easy, simple and fast pattern. It was a labor of love, and the result is very cool!This first version I sewed up size 6 years, without adjustments. But apparently my little girl had grown considerably lately, because the dress turned out to be a bit short …

The communication for this test was via e-mail, and again, that was somewhat awkward for me. I miss seeing what the others make, reading their questions and comments. However, that was more than offset by frequent back and forth mailing, and all this in a pleasant and constructive way! No question was too much, and the answers always came quickly! After reviewing the sizes, I turned out to be in need of size 6, extended to size 7 in length. I didn’t even have to make those adjustments myself, I received the pattern custom made via PDF in the sizes I needed, handy right ?! What a service!

For my second version, I again opted not for a normal jersey, but for a pleated fabric in jeans blue (no aff.link). Fits perfectly with the blue eyes of my model 😉Again not the simplest material to work with, but hey, who says you have to make it easy for yourself?This time I finished the hem with an elastic decorative band bought at Kleurenmix.nl. And I integrated pockets. They are included in the pattern, and you even have the choice between stitched-on pockets for a nice visual effect and sideseam pockets that are incorporated in the side seam. I chose the latter, so that I don’t do any breakdown in the ‘flow’ of the fabric.And oh, how beautiful this dress has become! The fluidity of the fabric ensures that it has become a super light dress. With a jacket over it, she can easily go to the restaurant, but she can just as well take it to the beach! Delicious!